Next week, the latest film version of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice will open. It stars Kiera Knightley, Matthew McFadden, Donald Sutherland, and Judi Dench. While the legions of fans of the 1995 BBC miniseries may well wonder why anyone would have bothered with a new version, it is nonetheless an appropriate opportunity to reflect upon what many call the "original chick-lit masterpiece." After all, in addition to this latest film, Austen's book was updated for contemporary international audiences by last year's Bride and Prejudice, and it served as the template for Bridget Jones' Diary. Austen isn't just another long dead author whose works are in the public domain; as one article recently put it, Austen is a brand.
The new book Flirting with Pride and Prejudice, edited by Jennifer Crusie, offers a number of perspectives on Austen's timeless classic. Crusie herself is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels include Crazy for You, Faking It, Fast Women and Welcome to Temptation (moreover, she's got an MA in feminist criticism, an MFA in fiction and a Ph.D in feminist criticism and 19th century British and American literature). The authors who contributed to this collection include Karen Jay Fowler, Cheryl Sawyer, Teresa Medeiros, Joyce Millman, Mercedes Lackey, Jane Esperson, and more. It's a light-hearted, humorous exploration of the novel's enduring success - and our ever-mutating modern reaction to it.
In the essay "A Little Friendly Advice," Jennifer O'Connell ponders what to do when one's friends make bad choices in relationships (here we're specifically focusing on Elizabeth Bennet and her friend Charlotte, who accepts Lizzy's castoffs without much of a complaint). What do you do when your friends are making big mistakes, and you know it?
As friends, when relationships are past the point of no return, we tend to tiptoe around the subject for fear of creating problems. There's a sort of relationship "no fly zone" that exists between friends. Our friend is making a huge decision and we're supposed to support her, no matter what we think. We're not expected to be the voice of reason, to rain on her parade. Sometimes what it comes down to is this: we fear losing our friend more than we fear the outcome of her mistake.
It's a set of interesting observations that tie into an understanding of the dynamic relationship between Lizzy and Charlotte. Some of the authors offered up fictional tales, such as Melissa Senate's "Charlotte's Side of the Story," in which Senate offers a modern update to the story from Charlotte's perspective as to why "Willy Collins" wasn't such a bad catch: "A suitable man got down on one knee, asked him to marry me, and held out a sparkling diamond ring in a lovely velvet-lined box. A man who would be an attentive, if super-annoying husband. He would be an attentive and doting father, of that I was sure. All I had to do was say yes and I would be engaged."
Article comments
1 - Temple Stark
Bill,
This post was chosen by the section editor as a BC pick of the week. Go HERE (link) to find out why. Put a graphic button on your page.
And thank you
- Temple